my live dvd wont boot properly and ive tried many different dvds... it happens on some other distros like mandriva 2009.1 rc too... seems to just freeze during load screen with the bar... any ideas on what can cause this? also how can i install a distro if the disc wont boot fully?

Did you check the md5sum? Did you burn as slow as possible?Did you use Compatibility mode?Press any key while the DVD counts down

Yeah checked the md5sum...Did not burn as slow as possible (could be the problem)Tried compatibility mode and it just stops at some point during it... (as if its just like, well im done doing this and doesn't run anymore lines)Didn't press any keys...

I find it odd that i never had these problems with live cds before but as of recent its becoming more common with newer distros... could it be a problem with my bios (its flashed up to date)... i know this isnt a mandriva forum, but just for another example its loading bar start acts like its going to finish then screen goes black and nothing happens... its just odd and im no linux pro so just wondering if it was a normal problem...

If you have any Linux installed you could run lspci and post the result hereThen we could see if we find anything particularAnd you are right that recent kernels are nasty to some (older) hardware but nicer to some

Sorry that did not help much - it's pretty standard somewhat older hardware - there are tons of Mint and Ubuntu computers running on top of thisCan you tell me exactly where it stops?You can also try the suggestions herehttp://www.linuxmint.com/wiki/index.php ... ur_Live_CDespecially the part about motherboards